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Hessiche Staatsweingüter
SchwalbacherStraße 56-62
65343 Eltville am Rhein
www.weingut-kloster-eberbach.de
Member - VDP
The state domain also runs Kloster Eberbach near Hattenheim, the ancient Monastery which is now something of a Temple to fine wine. Personal callers can buy wine eiher at Kloster Eberbach or the headquarters in Eltville. You even get a free tasting in Eltville, though not of rarities such as Eiswein. Credit Cards are accepted.
The Staatsweingüter send wine direct to individual customers here in Britain, and it seems throughout most of the world. Delivery to Britain is very cheap at €13.65 per case for 'express' delivery (5-6 days) or €10 approx for 'normal' delivery which takes around 8 days. They even give you a discount on orders over €500.
1990 Rauenthaler Baiken Riesling Auslese €38.80
So far as I can tell, this wine is only available to personal visitors.
Mid gold, with a good but not spectacular nose, very rich and quite full-bodied, this is very much a Rhein wine. There is a slightly dry element to this wine, probably from the rather high alcohol content of 10%. Quite a good wine, but not very good value for money.
Will last for at least another 5 years.
18/20
2005 Steinberger Riesling Spätlese €19.10
8% alcohol
Everything about this wine is extraordinary: first the vineyard where it was grown, which is entirely surrounded by a 2.5 km long wall built by Cistercian monks more than 700 years ago, and is solely owned by the Hessiche Staatsweingüter. Next the bottle, the top half of which is fluted, a design I haven't seen before. Even more unusal is the fact that it's made of green glass, more commonly seen on the Mosel....
The wine itself is pale gold, with a wonderful flowery nose equalling most Mosel wines,
and a fairly light body, with excellent fruit and a slight spiciness, aided by the considerably spritzig nature, fairly high, fairly sharp acidity strongly reminiscent of the Mosel, Saar, and Ruwer (think of lemons and limes), and low alcohol... I'm sure you see where I'm heading. Yes, this is a typical - no, actually this is a very superior Mosel wine, although it was grown in what is probably the most famous vineyard of the Rheingau. As I drank the first bottle, one thought came to me over and over again: in a blind tasting, where would I have guessed this wine was from? Eventually I settled on the Saar, probably one of Bert Simon's better wines from Serriger Würtzberg, which also often have a noticeable spiciness.
Very expensive for a German spätlese, but very good indeed.
Will last for at least 10 years, but I'm not sure if it will really improve as it's so good young and fresh.
19/20. Stunningly good.
2005 Rauenthaler Baiken Riesling Spätlese €13.80
10% alc.
Very pale gold. Rather closed on the nose. Full-bodied and quite fruity on the palate, with a hint of the spiciness that the wines of Rauenthal are renowned for, with softer acidity than the 2005 Steinberger above,
but without the magic that that wine has for me. One day after first opening the bottle the bouquet has improved somewhat, and the flavours are slightly more harmonious.
Needs at least 3 years, and will last for 5-10, maybe much more.
17/20
2004 Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Riesling Auslese €24.80
Very pale gold. Somewhat closed on the nose, but unmistakeably a Rheingau wine from the first sniff. Excellent fruit with good but not massive concentration, with the typical Rheingau body with a slightly dry element to the flavour, fairly firm acidity at first - this softens a day or two after opening the bottle, when further exotic fruit flavours develop. Very good, but not the most elegant wine I've ever tasted, and fairly good value for money.
Needs around 5 years
and will repay storage.
16/20 now, will reach 18-19/20
1999 Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Riesling Auslese
Mid gold, with a fairly good nose.
This isn't a 'big' wine, in style it's more of a spätlese than an auslese, although the sweetness is up to auslese standards. The acidity is rather soft, typical of the vintage, with fairly good but not massive fruit. Quite elegant, with very good length on the finish.
Will not improve further
16/20
1989 Steinberger Riesling Spätlese
Mid gold. Slightly 'petrol/kerosene' nose, with petrol/kerosene on the palate. Fairly good acidity and moderate sweetness, but not very elegant or fruity. Only moderate concentration. Very disappointing.
14/20
Riesling Auslese Gelee. €3.60 per 225 g bottle
This isn't wine, it's basically a jam made from Riesling Auslese wine.
Sweet with good acidity, and yes, it does have something of the flavour of a Riesling auslese. A fun breakfast jam for winelovers. It's not bad, in fact.